Video-game memory card expansion connector

ABSTRACT

A video-game memory card expansion connector includes a housing having a card slot for a memory card supplied by an original manufacturer of the video game to insert thereinto and a plug head adapted to plug onto a main unit of the video game, and an expansion circuit provided in the housing and including at least one data control element and at least one memory element, as well as at least a group of memory card contacts adapted to electrically connect to the memory card inserted into the card slot and a connecting head adapted to electrically connect to a circuit in the video-game main unit for connecting the expansion circuit to the video-game main unit. The at least one data control element enables the at least one memory element of the expansion circuit to read out and write in data and to be compatible with the memory card supplied by the original manufacturer of the video-game main unit, allowing the video-game main unit to have an expanded memory capacity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a video-game memory card expansion connector, and more particularly to a memory expansion device to which a memory card supplied by an original manufacturer of the video-game main unit is connected to expand the memory capacity of the video-game main unit.

[0002] Home video games are widely welcomed by children and young men. A lot of video games are products of high technologies and provide high quality amusements. For example, Japanese firm SONY has developed its PLAY STATION II series video games that are famous for an excellent 3D plotting function. Factors that decide the running speed or the 3D plotting function of a video game include not only functions of the microprocessor and the plotting chip in the main unit of the video games, but also a memory element thereof for powerful and complete data access. Video games like the above-mentioned PLAY STATION II series use externally connected memory cards with which data about games are accessed. Such memory cards have fixed memory capacities when they are supplied by the manufacturers and could not be expanded or changed. That is, these original memory cards decide the games available for users and the possibility of expansion of the memory capacity for video games. For example, one single memory card that could provide only one single game causes inconveniences to users in operating the video games and result in limited running speed, 3D plotting function or data access speed of the main units of the video games. It also adversely affects the development and application of games requiring large memory capacities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a video-game memory card expansion connector that allows a user to obtain additional memory compatible with the original memory card for the video-game main unit simply by inserting the memory card of the video game into the memory card expansion connector. Whereby, more games and games requiring large memory capacities could be selected for play on the same video-game main unit at optimal running speed to show excellent 3D plotting function. Moreover, games requiring large memory capacities could be developed for and run on the video games.

[0004] To achieve the above and other objects, the video-game memory card expansion connector of the present invention mainly includes a housing being provided at two opposite ends separately with a card slot for a memory card supplied by an original manufacturer of the video game to insert thereinto and a plug head adapted to plug into a card slot provided on a main unit of the video game, and an expansion circuit being provided in the housing at a predetermined position and including at least a group of memory card contacts corresponding to the card slot on the housing and a connecting head corresponding to the plug head, such that the memory card provided by the original manufacturer inserted into the card slot on the housing is connected to the memory card contacts in the expansion circuit and the connecting head connects the expansion circuit to memory card contacts provided in the video-game main unit. The expansion circuit also includes at least one memory element and at least one data control element. The at least one data control element controls coupling of data to enable the memory element to read out and write in data and to incorporate the read and write functions of the memory element into that of the memory card supplied by the original manufacturer of the video-game main unit, making the memory card expansion connector compatible with the video-game main unit for the latter to obtain expanded memory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

[0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective of a video-game memory card expansion connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0007]FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the video-game memory expansion connector of FIG. 1, showing memory card contacts and expansion circuit provided therein;

[0008]FIG. 3 is a top sectional view of the video-game memory expansion connector of FIG. 1, showing a memory card supplied by an original manufacturer is inserted into the video-game memory card expansion connector of the present invention;

[0009]FIG. 4 is a perspective of a video-game memory card expansion connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention, showing a differently designed housing thereof;

[0010]FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the expansion circuit adopted by the present invention;

[0011]FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the expansion circuit adopted by the present invention;

[0012]FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the expansion circuit adopted by the present invention; and

[0013]FIG. 8 is a perspective of a video-game memory card expansion connector according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Please refer to FIG. 1 in which a video-game memory card expansion connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown. For the purpose of simplicity, the video-game memory card expansion connector shall be briefly referred to as the expansion connector hereinafter and denoted by reference numeral 100 in all accompanying figures. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the expansion connector 100 mainly includes a housing 10 that may be of any configuration but is provided at two opposite ends separately with a card slot 11 for a memory card 200 supplied by an original manufacturer of the video game to insert thereinto, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and a plug head 12 adapted to plug into a card slot provided on a main unit 300 of the video game (not shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3). At least one suitable mark 121 is provided at an outer surface of the plug head 12 to indicate a direction in which the plug head 12 is plugged onto the video-game main unit 300. An expansion circuit 20 is provided in the housing 10 at a predetermined position. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the expansion circuit 20 is provided in the housing 10 so as to locate below the memory card 200 as shown in FIG. 2. The expansion circuit 20 includes at least a group of memory card contacts 21 corresponding to the card slot 11 and a connecting head 22 corresponding to the plug head 12. The memory card 200 provided by the original manufacturer is inserted into the card slot 11 to electrically connect to the memory card contacts 21, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the connecting head 22 connects the expansion circuit 20 to memory card contacts (not shown) provided in the video-game main unit 300, such that the memory card 200, the expansion circuit 20, and the video-game main unit 300 are electrically connected to one another.

[0015]FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention that is structurally the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, except that an appearance of the housing 10 and a shape of the card slot 11 in this second embodiment are differently designed. The card slot 11 has a rectangular profile in the first embodiment and is changed to a curvy triangle in the second embodiment to make the entire expansion connector 100 of the present invention looked more attractive.

[0016] Please refer to FIG. 5 that is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the expansion circuit 20. In this embodiment, the expansion circuit 20 includes at least one memory element 23 and at least one data control element 24. The at least one data control element 24 is electrically connected to the video-game main unit 300 in order to obtain from the main unit 300 a driving code X supplied by the original manufacturer of the video game. When the main unit 300 completes necessary tests and the at least one memory element 23 is verified to be compatible with the video-game main unit 300 and the driving code X for the memory card 200, the at least one data control element 24 is able to use the driving code X to send out a control signal Y to directly enable the at least one memory element 23 to read out and write into data, and to incorporate a data bus D1 of the at least one memory element 23 into a data bus D2 of the memory card 200, allowing the main unit 300 to use not only the memory card 200 but also the at least one memory element 23 to expand its memory when running games.

[0017]FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a second embodiment of the expansion circuit 20. In the second embodiment, the expansion circuit 20 also includes at least one memory element 23 and at least one data control element 24. However, the driving code X in the first embodiment of FIG. 5 is now internally recorded on the at least one data control element 24 in this second embodiment. In this case, when the expansion circuit 20 is actuated, it is not necessary to obtain the driving code X from the video-game main unit 300. The at least one data control element 24 directly uses the internally stored driving code X to send out the control signal Y to the at least one memory element 23. Similarly, the control signal Y enables the at least one memory element 23 to read out and write in data, allowing the data bus D1 of the memory element 23 to incorporate into the data bus D2 of the memory card 200 and therefore couple the present invention with the memory card 200 supplied by the original manufacturer of the video game. This design also enables the main unit 300 to obtain expanded memory just as the case shown in FIG. 5.

[0018]FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the expansion circuit 20. In this third embodiment, the expansion circuit 20 includes at least one memory element 23 and a pair of data control elements 24, 25. Wherein, the first data control element 24 obtains from the video-game main unit 300 the driving code X for the memory card 200 supplied by the original manufacturer and the main unit 300 completes tests of the at least one memory element 23 to valid the latter. Thereafter, data including the driving code X and testing results are sent to the second data control element 25 for the same to send out a control signal Y to enable the at least one memory element 23 to read out and write in data, and to incorporate the data bus D1 of the at least one memory element 23 into the data bus D2 of the memory card 200, allowing the present invention to couple with the memory card 200 to expand the memory capacities of the video-game main unit 300, just as in the cases shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0019] With the above arrangements, an even more accurate functional division of electric circuit is possible. Each one single element in a circuit of the video game needs not to store data while executing different electrical functions. This design enables accurate and efficient operation of the expansion circuit 20 and reduces probabilities of failure in the entire circuit of the video game.

[0020]FIG. 8 shows an expansion connector 100 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In this third embodiment, the expansion connector 100 includes a housing 10 in the form of a card. A plug head 12′ provided at one end of the housing 10 is adapted to plug into a card slot provided on the video-game main unit 300, and a connecting case 500 is connected via a power cord 400 to another end of the housing 10 opposite to the plug head 12′. The connecting case 500 is provided with a card slot 510 into which the memory card 200 supplied by the original manufacturer of the video game is inserted. A group of memory card contacts 21′ are provided in the card slot 510 to, on the one hand, electrically contact an end of the memory card 200 inserted into the card slot 510, and on the other hand, electrically connect via the power cord 400 to the expansion circuit 20 provided in the housing 10. Through the same electrical operations of the expansion circuit 20 as that described in the first, the second, and the third embodiments of the expansion circuit 20 shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, at least one memory element 23 in the expansion circuit 20 of this embodiment is compatible with and incorporated into the memory card 200 supplied by the original manufacturer to expand the memory capacity of the video-game main unit 300. The expansion connector 100 of this third embodiment is particularly advantageous for use because it allows the connecting case 500 to locate in the vicinity of a user and therefore easy access to and replacement of the memory card 200. The video-game main unit 300 can therefore be more conveniently controlled at a remote place.

[0021] The following summarizes some advantages of the present invention that make it industrially practical for use:

[0022] 1. The present invention provides an expanded memory capacity to the memory card 200 supplied by the original manufacturer, so that more games are available on the video-game main unit 300 and the latter could be operated in a more convenient manner, run at increased speed, and show excellent 3D drawing effect.

[0023] 2. The expansion connector 100 of the present invention can be conveniently and easily operated. Loading of a driver for the video game onto the memory card 200 and the at least one memory element 23, testing of the compatibility of the at least one memory element 23 with the memory card 200, and incorporation of the at least one memory element 23 into the memory card 200 all can be automatically completed.

[0024] 3. The at least one memory element 23 is not limited to any fixed memory capacity and is therefore beneficial to the development and application of game programs requiring high memory capacity for running on the video-game main unit 300.

[0025] The present invention provides a simple way to enable expanded memory for general video-game main units, such as the Play Station II Series developed by SONY, through automatic test of compatibility of an expanded memory with the original memory card, and incorporation of the compatible expanded memory into the original memory card, making it possible to develop large scaled and high memory capacity video-game programs and increase industrial and commercial value of the video games.

[0026] The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A video-game memory card expansion connector, comprising: a housing being provided at two opposite ends separately with a card slot for a memory card supplied by an original manufacturer of the video game to insert thereinto and a plug head adapted to plug onto a main unit of the video game; and an expansion circuit being provided in said housing at a predetermined position and including at least a group of memory card contacts corresponding to said card slot and a connecting head corresponding to said plug head, such that said memory card provided by the original manufacturer inserted into said card slot is connected to said memory card contacts in said housing and said connecting head connects said expansion circuit to said video-game main unit; and said expansion circuit also including at least one memory element and at least one data control element, said at least one data control element being capable of obtaining from said video-game main unit a driving code that is needed to enable a memory function of said video game, and then sending out a control signal to enable said at least one memory element to read out and write in data and to incorporate said at least one memory element into a data read-out and write-in function of said memory card supplied by the original manufacturer needed by said video-game main unit, making said memory card expansion connector workable to provide said video-game main unit an expanded memory.
 2. A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said card slot at one end of said housing has a rectangular profile.
 3. A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said expansion circuit includes a pair of said data control elements, a first data control element of which obtaining from said video-game main unit said driving code supplied by the original manufacturer and sending said driving code to a second data control element of said pair of data control elements, said second data control element, on receipt of said driving code, sending out a control signal to enable said at least one memory element to read out and write in data, making said memory card expansion connector workable to provide said video-game main unit an expanded memory.
 4. A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing is in a form of a card and has a connecting case electrically connected to a first end of said housing via a power cord connected to said expansion circuit; said card-shaped housing having a second end adapted to plug into said card slot provided on said video-game main unit, and said connecting case being provided with a card slot into which said memory card supplied by the original manufacturer for said video-game main unit is inserted.
 5. A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein said connecting case is provided in said card slot with a group of memory card contacts for electrically connecting said memory card inserted into said card slot to said video-game main unit via said power cord and said expansion circuit in said housing.
 6. A video-game memory card expansion connector, comprising: a housing being provided at two opposite ends separately with a card slot for a memory card supplied by an original manufacturer of the video game to insert thereinto and a plug head adapted to plug onto a main unit of the video game; and an expansion circuit being provided in said housing at a predetermined position and including at least a group of memory card contacts corresponding to said card slot and a connecting head corresponding to said plug head, such that said memory card provided by the original manufacturer inserted into said card slot is connected to said memory card contacts in said housing and said connecting head connects said expansion circuit to said video-game main unit; and said expansion circuit also including at least one memory element and at least one data control element, said data control element, according to an internally stored driving code data, being capable of sending out a control signal to enable said at least one memory element to read out and write in data and to incorporate said at least one memory element into a data read-out and write-in function of said memory card supplied by the original manufacturer needed by said video-game main unit, making said memory card expansion connector workable to provide said video-game main unit an expanded memory.
 7. A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein said housing is in a form of a card and has a connecting case electrically connected to a first end of said housing via a power cord connected to said expansion circuit; said card-shaped housing having a second end adapted to plug into said card slot provided on said video-game main unit, and said connecting case being provided with a card slot into which said memory card supplied by the original manufacturer for said video-game main unit is inserted.
 8. A video-game memory card expansion connector as claimed in claim 7, wherein said connecting case is provided in said card slot with a group of memory card contacts for electrically connecting said memory card inserted into said card slot to said video-game main unit via said power cord and said expansion circuit in said housing. 